How to verify MRR before buying a SaaS business
Practical methods to verify a seller's MRR claims: Stripe views to request, reconciliation techniques, and the tricks sellers use to inflate.
- Never trust a screenshot. Ask for a live Stripe read-only invite.
- Reconcile MRR against bank deposits monthly for the last 12 months.
- Watch for annual pre-pays booked as MRR — the #1 inflation trick.
Get read-only Stripe access
Ask for a read-only Stripe user invite to their live account for the duration of diligence. Non-negotiable. If the seller refuses, walk. Any legitimate seller understands.
The three-view reconciliation
View 1: Stripe MRR chart. View 2: Stripe payouts. View 3: bank statements. Reconcile all three by month. Discrepancies of >3% are a red flag; >10% is a deal-killer.
FAQs
Same principle — request read-only access. All three platforms support it.
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